Yan Shisheng replied courteously, "This humble scholar does not use incense."
Mu Wan Yao didn't believe him.
She sniffed the air and indeed detected an extremely faint, elegant fragrance about him. As Danyang Princess, she had no need to consider others' feelings. Since she liked the scent, she approached Yan Shisheng, grabbed his sleeve, and leaned in to smell it closely.
Mu Wan Yao stepped forward.
Yan Shisheng retreated a step.
Mu Wan Yao advanced again.
Yan Shisheng retreated once more.
Mu Wan Yao grew displeased: "Why are you avoiding me?!"
Under the stunned gazes of everyone, even the normally composed Yan Erlang couldn't help but flush crimson. How could he withstand such willful behavior from the princess in public?
Ah.
If only the door were closed...
But in front of everyone...
No, even with the door closed, this wouldn't be proper.
Just as Mu Wan Yao grabbed Yan Shisheng's sleeve to stop him from retreating further, he found himself with no room to escape and hastily interrupted her approach: "Your Highness, I've just remembered what this fragrance is!"
Mu Wan Yao lifted her eyelids, smirking faintly: "The moment I approach you, you remember. Does your quick wit require my stimulation to awaken?"
Her tone carried subtle sarcasm.
Pretending not to understand the princess's mockery, Yan Shisheng discreetly pulled his sleeve from her grasp. After pondering deeply, he answered: "...I truly don't use incense. But my younger sister happens to be a young lady fond of elegance. Perhaps I accidentally picked up some fragrance while helping her scent clothes."
"This incense is called 'Jiangzhen Xiang.' Your Highness may verify with my younger sister."
Mu Wan Yao responded with a noncommittal "Oh."
With the princess causing such a distraction, everyone stared blankly at Yan Shisheng, likely speculating about his relationship with Mu Wan Yao. They'd largely forgotten about the minor matter of Yan Shisheng failing the exams for another year...
Later, Mu Wan Yao entered the room and inquired about Chunhua's health.
During this time, her eyes occasionally drifted toward Liu Wenji speaking with Yan Shisheng outside. She observed Yan Shisheng congratulating Liu Wenji, whose entire demeanor radiated self-satisfied joy... Mu Wan Yao snorted coldly.
As Chunhua was being assisted by maids to rest on the couch, she noticed Mu Wan Yao repeatedly glancing at Liu Wenji outside. For some reason, she grew nervous: "Your Highness... do you dislike Young Master Liu?"
Mu Wan Yao withdrew her gaze.
She took a sip of tea, her beautiful eyes lifting slightly as a fleeting charm passed through her dark pupils. Frowning, she said: "Whether I like him or not is irrelevant. But since he's passed the provincial exam, why hasn't he returned home instead of staying with the Yan family? Is it to irritate Yan Shisheng?"
Chunhua's heart raced.
Blushing, she privately speculated that Liu Wenji remained with the Yan family for her sake.
Stammering, Chunhua offered: "Perhaps Young Master Liu and Yan Erlang are very close friends."
Mu Wan Yao: "Is there anyone Yan Shisheng doesn't get along with?"
Chunhua and the princess stared at each other blankly—this remark... left her speechless.
Mu Wan Yao quickly dropped the subject: "It doesn't matter. Who passes or fails makes no difference. Liu Wenji may appear thoroughly satisfied now, as if passing a provincial exam will make him soar to great heights... When he reaches Chang'an, he'll discover how many such prodigies the capital holds!"
She took pleasure in his impending disillusionment: "The provincial exam is merely the first step. Those without reputation who seek advancement will learn how difficult this path truly is after wasting years in Chang'an, spending all their resources without finding any opportunity."
Chunhua sighed ruefully.Chunhua asked, "Your Highness, when shall we depart from this place?"
Mu Wan Yao was taken aback.
She had somewhat forgotten about this matter.
Originally, after obtaining the White Ox Tea Tree, she should have gone to the South Sea to find her uncle, but by chance, she had returned to the Yan family and encountered Yan Erlang again... Mu Wan Yao replied vaguely, "Once you have recovered."
Chunhua pursed her lips; in truth, she was already well enough to travel.
But... Chunhua glanced at Liu Wenji outside the window, her heart troubled, and so she too acted like an ostrich, not taking the initiative to say anything.
Mu Wan Yao sat with Chunhua for a while before soon leaving. After the princess and her entourage had departed, Chunhua sat in the room and heard Liu Wenji speaking outside: "Madam? Madam, are you listening to me?"
Chunhua got out of bed and walked to the door. She heard Liu Wenji whispering outside, "I have written to my family, saying I will stay here to teach Yan Erlang for a few days. I see that your injuries have not yet healed—is there anything you need me to assist with?"
Through the door, Liu Wenji waited for a long time before finally hearing the young woman's faint voice from inside: "There is."
His heart instantly swelled with joy! He knew she was subtly agreeing to let him stay—
In the afternoon, when Mu Wan Yao woke from her nap, Yan Shisheng's younger sister, Yan Xiaozhou, came to visit, offering "Jiangzhen Incense" to the princess.
Freshly awakened, Mu Wan Yao rubbed her forehead as her maid, Xiarong, attended to her washing and dressing.
Xiarong observed the princess's reflection in the mirror and noticed a faint smile at the corners of Mu Wan Yao's lips, clearly in a good mood at the moment.
After Chunhua fell ill, Xiarong had taken over as the princess's personal maid. Eager to please Her Highness, Xiarong said while combing the princess's hair, "Young Lady Yan must have been sent by Erlang. Erlang is truly so considerate—Your Highness merely mentioned it in passing, and he took it to heart."
Hearing this, Mu Wan Yao glanced at her.
Mu Wan Yao said, "What do you mean, I mentioned it in passing and he took it to heart? I saw him surrounded by everyone and pitied him, so I helped him out of that situation. I helped him, and he returned the favor—isn't that only right?"
Xiarong was stunned.
The other maids attending behind her were equally stunned.
Xiarong voiced everyone's astonishment: "Your Highness, were those words actually meant to help Yan Erlang out of a difficult situation? This servant... this servant did not realize."
Mu Wan Yao, still in a good mood, did not scold the maids: "You foolish people naturally wouldn't understand my kindness. As long as Yan Shisheng understood, that's enough. And he did understand. It was worth this princess's rare act of goodwill."
Yan Xiaozhou had always been somewhat afraid of Mu Wan Yao. Now that she knew Mu Wan Yao was a princess, she stood before her even more awkwardly after entering the room. The young lady had a delicate and pretty face but kept her head lowered, blushing, which Mu Wan Yao found curious.
Yan Xiaozhou handed the box in her arms to the princess's maid and said quietly, "This box contains incense cakes that my second brother and I made together. I've used most of them, but there are still some left. If Your Highness does not mind, please take them to try. If you like them, I can make more."
Mu Wan Yao had the maids accept the incense. Seeing Yan Xiaozhou curtsy and prepare to leave, she noticed the young lady's eyes were slightly red.
Mu Wan Yao: "Why are you crying? Does giving me a bit of incense make you so upset?"
Yan Xiaozhou was startled by the princess's sharp eyes and cold words.She looked up, her eyes indeed rimmed red. But she waved her hands repeatedly: "No, no, no! I'm not crying because I gave Your Highness some incense! It's my blessing that Your Highness likes this incense—how could I possibly feel wronged?"
Mu Wan Yao gazed at her.
Yan Xiaozhou's eyes remained red-rimmed as she pressed her lips together.
Mu Wan Yao leisurely propped her chin on her hand and said lazily, "Say whatever you want to say. Don't learn from your second brother's habit of speaking in circles."
Yan Xiaozhou's face flushed red again, this time from embarrassment.
She whispered: "...My second brother has studied for so many years. Can't you really help him, Your Highness?"
Mu Wan Yao: "I can."
Yan Xiaozhou had only been testing the waters, but Mu Wan Yao's immediate agreement made her look up in surprise.
However, Mu Wan Yao raised her eyes with a smile: "But I want him to come beg me."—
Yan Shisheng sat at his desk, organizing books and contemplating his plans for the coming year.
He estimated that since he had become Her Highness's savior, after the princess departed, next year's provincial examination quota would be his for the taking without any extra effort.
He could easily reach Chang'an.
But Chang'an was the political center of the entire Great Wei, where all the scholars and talents of the realm gathered. So many people wasted years there without achieving success in the imperial examinations... How could someone like him, who wasn't skilled in poetry, stand out?
He would need to put in effort in certain areas.
While thinking, Yan Shisheng wrote down a list of books he needed to read in the coming year, determined what talents he must master, and planned how to take advantage of Mu Wan Yao's remaining time to extract information about Chang'an's famous scholars and noble families from her... He was so meticulous that as he wrote, he burned the completed notes, leaving no trace behind.
When Yan Xiaozhou knocked and entered, she was immediately choked by the smoke-filled room.
Yan Xiaozhou: "Second brother... cough, are you burning things again?"
Yan Shisheng stood to welcome his sister, opened the window for ventilation, then handed her tea while smiling gently: "The weather's quite cold, I'm just burning some things for warmth."
Yan Xiaozhou, pressed down by her brother's hand on her shoulder to sit: "..."
Setting aside other matters, she went straight to her main point: "...Anyway, Her Highness isn't refusing to help—she's waiting for you to beg! Second brother, you should go quickly!"
She looked up at her second brother, urging him happily: "Your previous plan was correct, second brother. I think the princess still likes you quite a lot."
Yan Shisheng remained silent.
After a long pause, he declared with righteous dignity, flicking his sleeve: "A true man stands firm in this world, knowing what should and shouldn't be done. How can I take such crooked paths? Little sister, is this what I usually teach you?"
"Say no more! Asking me to serve others with my appearance—forget it."—
Under the starry sky, at the borderlands, the frontier troops guarding Great Wei's boundaries welcomed a cavalry unit.
The cavalry galloped from the direction of the Southern Barbarians, arriving in a cloud of dust at the border town walls, claiming to be the Uman King come to visit.
The garrison forces rode out, and the border general in his tent received the news as if facing a great enemy: "The Uman King? A year ago, didn't the Black Barbarians fall into civil war, too preoccupied with their own problems?"
The Great Wei border troops marched out with large contingents, and under the starlit night, both sides faced each other across a long river with their respective forces.
The opposing cavalry stood on the mountain ridge, shouting clearly: "...I, the newly appointed Uman King, have quelled the internal strife and specifically come to pledge allegiance to Great Wei! I request the general send a letter to Chang'an to inform our Imperial Father!"
Due to the Peace Marriage establishing vassal relations, the Uman King directly referred to the Great Wei Emperor as "Imperial Father."The border army general wore a stern expression. The Black Barbarians had reunified their internal factions... whether this was good news remained uncertain.
Yet he took care not to offend the other party, ordering his soldiers to ride forth and retrieve the letter. He declared they would deliver it posthaste to Chang'an, announcing to the world the return of the Uman King.
Knowing this was no trivial matter, the general prepared to depart on horseback after these brief exchanges. But then a male voice, somewhat stiff yet remarkably clear in the Great Wei official tongue, rang out from among the Black barbarians: "General, wait."
Turning, the general saw a black horse emerge from the densely packed Black barbarian cavalry crowning the mist-shrouded mountains. Astride it sat a tall, powerfully built man concealed beneath a hood that obscured his features.
Under the moonlight, the man tilted his hood back slightly, revealing a glimpse of his jawline.
Handsome, aloof, and imperious.
With a faint, ambiguous smile, the man declared, "I am the new Uman King."
The Great Wei general tensed, watching the barbarian king who had personally come to the border with sharp vigilance. His soldiers gripped their weapons, ready to counter any disturbance.
The hooded rider remained unperturbed.
"I mean no harm," he said. "I merely wish to ask... if any of you know the whereabouts of the Danyang Princess? To be frank, my relationship with her... runs deep. General, relay this message for me: ask her if she still remembers the promise between us."
The general warily asked, "What promise?"
The man laughed heartily.
His laughter shook the forest, sending flocks of birds soaring skyward as he threw his head back in mirth—what magnificent, domineering spirit!
Then he drawled lazily, "Between a man and a woman, what promise could it be?"
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